Dissolution of the Sweden–Norway Union
Norway left its union with Sweden in 1905 without a shot being fired. The union dated from 1814, when Denmark ceded Norway to Sweden as part of the Napoleonic settlement and the Norwegians responded by writing their own constitution at Eidsvoll and declaring independence. Sweden invaded briefly and then accepted the constitution in exchange for the union, so Norway entered it as a separate kingdom with its own parliament and laws, sharing only the monarch and foreign policy. Foreign policy is where it broke. Norway had one of the largest merchant fleets in the world and no consular service of its own, its interests being handled by Swedish consuls appointed in Stockholm. The Storting passed a consular act in May 1905; the king refused assent; the Norwegian cabinet resigned; and the Storting declared on 7 June that since the king could no longer form a government he had ceased to function as King of Norway, and the union was therefore dissolved. The legal reasoning was thin and the political sense was considerable. A referendum in August returned 368,208 votes for dissolution and 184 against. Sweden mobilised and negotiated instead, at Karlstad, agreeing terms including a demilitarised frontier zone. A second referendum chose monarchy over republic, and a Danish prince became Haakon VII. The precedent — a plebiscite settling a secession — was noticed everywhere. So was the manner of it. Two neighbouring states with a century of grievance took eleven weeks to separate by negotiation, and the demilitarised frontier they agreed at Karlstad has never had a soldier on it since.
- Year: 1905 CE
- Category: Political
